Scarlet Rogue (Book One)

Chapter Eleven: Victory

Kaelynn

As I wake up, I realise I am on the bed again. Ayden seems intent on moving me to the bed and sleeping on the couch every night for some reason. Glancing over to the couch, I see Ayden is already up for the day to which I release a deep breath. Facing him everyday is difficult especially with my wolf pushing further out with his presence.

I get ready before going down for breakfast, where I see Avery pilling pickles on her pancakes.

"Pregnancy cravings, huh?" I smirk at her

"Don't judge me! This will be you one day."

I howl in laughter at her joke but her expression remains serious.

"You do realise that when you become Luna, you will be expected to bear Ayden's pups?" She says with a straight face.

"Please Avery! I'm sure Ayden will reject me soon. Speaking of the boys, I don't see them around," I say hoping to change the subject.

"They are all out training."

Avery looks down at her food in silence for far too long which tells me she's hiding something. This is one of the reasons we are such good friends; neither of us can keep secrets.

"Avery, what are you hiding?"

She sighs and looks around before whispering, "I'm not supposed to say anything but Mark said Ayden has arranged for you to be interrogated this evening."

Avery looks disheartened but I expected this, in fact I was expecting much worse. Ayden would be a terrible Alpha if he just accepted me like this.

"Come on, don't worry. Ayden is just looking out for his pack, I'll be fine."

Avery looks slightly reassured but she won't relax until she knows I'm safe. How did I get so lucky as to meet her? Words can't express how grateful I am for having her in my life.

Once we start eating, Avery loosens up as we brainstorm baby names. I can't help but smile at her excitement over her pregnancy.

"Do you want to spend the day at the school today?" Avery asks.

"Let's go!" I agree hoping the school will cheer her up.

This could be my last day here if the interrogation doesn't go well, so I am going to enjoy it to the fullest with Avery. Avery takes me on a tour around the building to begin with. We stop by the pre-schoolers and watch in awe at the cuteness overload.

"Avery! We haven't seen you in a while, why don't you join in?" A young woman says from behind us.

"We would love to!"

We follow her to join the kids finger painting. We are barely inside before Avery is pulled away. I can tell she is a regular here with how the kids are gathering around her.

In the corner of the room, a little girl is painting alone. Now that looks like more my scene. I walk over and start painting in silence alongside her. She doesn't glance up at me but she does move her paints closer to me which I accept.

Soon after, Mark props through the door to take us to lunch. Not wanting to be a third wheel, I decide to stay behind with the kids. The little girl from earlier takes me out to the field where she sits down and gives me half her sandwich.

"What's your name?" I ask sitting down next to her.

She stares at me blankly then looks away and continues eating.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" I say before continuing in silence.

In front of us, warriors are training. They look like they are being worked to the bone. Edon's words start ringing in my head about a war on the horizon and the scene in front of me is only confirming his words. I'm losing my appetite with my thoughts but I nibble the sandwich regardless.

"Get out of here! There is no place for women when it comes to fighting."

I immediately look up to see who made that sexist remark. I see a broad-shouldered man who appears to be in charge of the warriors. I eye up his physique; he looks strong but maybe I could take him.

I look to the little girl beside me, "do you think I can teach that man that women are stronger than men?"

She continues looking at me blankly but I see a slight twinkle in her eye which I take as encouragement to challenge the man to a fight. I grab a uniform and helmet from the side to disguise myself. If he knew I was a woman, he'd dismiss me without even trying to fight me.

I walk up to the warrior leader and enter a combative pose which he takes as a challenge gladly. The cockiness is oozing off him and I smirk knowing it will be knocked out of him soon enough.

He raises his fist to strike a punch getting ahead of himself, which I dodge without hesitation. Feeling agitated, he throws a series of punches and kicks towards me but he misses every time. By now, a crowd starts gathering. This is going to be fun; watching the sexist warrior be humiliated.

I continue missing his attacks, hoping to tire him out but to my surprise he keeps going with as much vigour each time.

"Are you that weak that you can't even throw a punch?" He says clearly annoyed.

I roll my eyes knowing he is trying to throw me off. My original plan to tire him out is going to take too long, I need to attack. If I lay a punch on the side of the jaw, his Arterioles will spasm restricting his blood flow and knocking him out. A human could die from this but a wolf would be fully recovered within the hour. I catch the warrior off guard and throw my punch.

Within seconds he is knocked down and the crowd stares at me in shock. Some warriors carry my opponent to the infirmary whilst others stay as I unmask myself. With my victory in hand, I decide a speech is in order.

"Let this be a lesson to everyone that woman can fight! Women can be stronger than men and anyone who doesn't respect this can face me in battle."

There's a mixture of emotions in the crowd. I hear cheers but the warriors all seem to be silent. Don't tell me they are all sexist; I think to myself rolling my eyes. My eyes fall to the little girl who for the first time seems to have a slight smile. I smile towards her knowing her reaction is the best thing out of this. Putting the uniform aside, we walk back to the school where we meet Avery again.

"I see you've met the Beta's niece, Kiara." Avery says to me.

I look at the little girl who walks off to put her lunch away then say, "is she always this quiet?"

"Ever since her parent's died, she doesn't say anything. In fact, I'm surprised she is spending time with you. She's quite the lone wolf."

I think over Avery's words. Poor Kiara, she has been through so much at a young age. My heart breaks for her as I think about how cruel life can be.

---

As evening approaches, I sit Kiara in front of a movie knowing Ayden will be calling for me soon. The Beta has been preoccupied today so Avery bought Kiara home with us.

"Kaelynn!" I walk to the kitchen and see Avery more excited than usual. "I have something really important to ask you."

Uh oh, what could this be?

"Erm," she hesitates looking nervous.

"What is it, Avery?"

"Well me and Mark have been talking. Mark has already asked Ayden who accepted but I want to ask you too. Will you be our child's Godmother?"

She twiddles her thumbs almost expecting me to refuse.

"Are you kidding?! Of course, I will. You know you are like a sister to me; this child will be no less than my niece."

Avery and I both tear up over the excitement. Mark and Ayden walk in as we are crying away which sends Mark into protective mode but he calms down quickly once Avery tells him what I've agreed to.

"Kaelynn, can you follow me to my office? We need to find out more about your past to protect the pack." Ayden says to me.

I gulp knowing what is coming and follow Ayden to his office.